Thread-controlling mechanism for sewing-machines.



l A. BOYD. THREAD' GONTEOLLINGMEGHANISM EOE SEWING MACHINES.

4APEEIGATIQN FILED AUG.17,1911. Patented Feb. 18, 1913.

WIM/'53855:

. UNITED SJEATESATENT.ormoni ALEXANDERBYD, `nL-IZABnrij,new Jnfasnxfnssrenonlfro UMYAlN-U- FAoTgUBING COMPANY. n Co31.?"o3nn'12i:on or NEW JERSEY.,H a

.`iifrryrnniinfoonfrnonrrne'Mnorrnnivfnon si:'WrnG-ivrnorirlmis.

Pai-@inea Fen(18,1913.l

Application inea August 171. `r1911.y Vserial -No.'e44,597." n i f T 0 all wimmz' may mindern.'

De it linonn `that I. Lrxxxnen B01D.l n' citizen of the United Stntes--resid1ng aft Elizabetlnin the county oflfnion and' State of BeW'Jersey. have invented certain 'nenY` and useful improvementsin Thread-Con? trolling ilechanisin for Sewing-Machines, of 'which the following is; a'epeeification, reference being had therein to 'tlie "'acco1n panyng drewingsr-.y

This-invention relntesto ine'anS for' lcon-4 Jrolling theftlnedsA 'in sewing 'machined and particularly 1n, machines for producing barred-end'buttonlioles; and ithas tor its `chief object-to provide a l'iuttonhole sewing machine adapted 'for production of barred lnittonholens-v raving a purl-stitch edge-'Cotilr ering oyerseainand either apurlfstitch or a l.Whip-stitch bar at ,one orlooth ends'of the saine.y n ,j v

In its preferred torni, the improvement.

conprisesa tension detf'ice including' a'nniornily acting primary tension element and an auxiliary tension element with ineans for .releasing the latter'v kat the completion of.

eaehalternate gronp or `succession, of stitches of vpredeterinined number, and means adapted for adjustment to render the freleasing means4 either .eiectit'e or ineffective in Aperforming` itev norn'ial function.

Intlie accompanyingdrawings. Figure 1l a front side elevation of a `butt'onhole stitching and yi3-ziriintqzmachine conStriieted4 substantially in yaccordance'Witlitlie .United State@` patents to E. B; yAllen No. 856,617,

' of. June. ll, ,1907,- and, No. 857,115, otfJune 1S, 1907, land Aeinbodying the present. viinprox-ement7 and Fig.. 2 arplan of the'. under side/oit the saine. Figi a perspectiie View .of a hracliefbpiece carrying the auxiliary tension andthe guidinglelenienttofwhich y the upperor needle-thread isledi tufand ;t'ron'i the a'ij-.xiliary ,tensionV i The 1nachine,\i.e.shown 'e ruett-"d with Ithe bed-'plate IK1 .andv the b ieketarid-)congprisin';I thegliollnt etai i rd 2.*anld the tu:-

vhular member.. 3 iinn'hicli isjournaled. the

main-shaft haring the usual operative, coricarrying the' needle; t3. rilhe;needle-har ige.l

y y ilcrinned'` in. the Head ofthe brael-tet-.aliiinland lpiovideil at oneisiidewith .the studf to lwhich piX- otally eonnectedone end of the pitinan 9 havation f in the `ing its opposite end` vconnected by. the,V stud- `Scre\\' 10 Withan adjustable "block 11 lfitted Within the channel 12 of the upright irinyll of a bellcrank-'lexer fulciu'lned upon 'thee-arm. S and having a rearwardly extending slotted 'arni lei. ATlieslot of thelbellcrank-arrn 14 is enterednby rolle'rlstud 15 carried by: the 'Slide-block 1G ittedfn'ithin the slide-Way 17 fo'rinedinfthe lateral' arin 18 ofl a secondhellcrnnlt' fulcruined upon'the bracket'arni' y 3 andv having an upwardly extending arin 19- nliich carriee'a rollerstudQO entering'the. canigroore Q1 ofthe oani-disrk?.y drivenfloy' a connection Withfnid rotating at one-half "the speed of the'inain-shaft. The bain-diskA 22' operates`,. by the connections' -jn'st -'de- Scribedgfto impart-'the Ausual jogging move. 'niente'- to the needlebarufraine.,

' Coniiected by means A oftlie bevel-gears' to rotate in unison with the main-shaft is vthe nprightfv` shaft Qflcairying at 'its lower end beneath ytli'e bed-plate the crank-disk '25.,

,o carrying a'lstud 26 connected by ineansfof 'the p it'linanv 2T`With a cra'nlepin :28 upon, fan intermediate' rock-'shaft '29 .which is c'on-y `nected 'in' turn with the shuttle-driver rockshaft 30 v'carrying the slnittle-driverl.. The Ydriyer.'laiiorde a'ivell vknoivfn ineiinsbf actuating' the oscillatingsliuttle"32 journled inthe race .-jantl. provided ii'it'h the'thread4 case 31 containing" the lower.,thread.` A

Asy y`1e'preser`ited in dotted linesv ,iQFig-"Q, the Sli-aft .9i has fixecl`-tl1ereon adjacent :the crank-:disk the treed#actuating eccentricB einbrzieed by a fork iiiv onei'oi the arnis 36 .of bellcranlt-leyer fulcrnined ati' ;and hai'inglit's other arm 38 formed with a slot 89 in which is` adjustably secured the Stud .4.0 enibraced 4by one Vend lof, pit'inan 41 jvfliose "other end is piyotallyv connected by" means ofthe @tud-screw L2 totheyibratory c'lutfch-leyerV '4:43 ni'ounte'dupon the iilcrinn y-, @The 4 hub.y 155% of the 'clutchlll'erer is providedv `1with diainetrically opposite .notches each entered .by the inner extremity 4oft a c'lnt'chfdog fk5' 'whoe opposite end is v`tranijersely slotted yto rzitif'drd 'a j nwA ,einbracvingfthe depending tinnge'ijof the feed "Aylieel cqf Each of the chitcli-dogs haSJ'Se-I Vcured torone ledgey near ,the vinner end an out'- t iyaiklljv extending' iiatrspring .48 which rests '.in ecrit-ict rrith'ltli'point.) ascrei) c 'arriedbyan .aij'in y50 rigidly'seeured upon the @hubitfthe,clutch-levere, which' acts' to ikeep tlievcltelrdog vin''operaffiner engage-'i110 nient with the feed-wheel ange 46.- From the mechanism just described the feed-wheel derives its step-byfstp lrotary movements for producing the required travel of the work-holder relatively to the stitch-forming mechanism.,

The feediwheel has in its lower face a 'cam-groove lentered by a stud 52 upon a vibratory lever 53 fulcrumed upon the screw-'stud 54 and carrying at its opposite end the stud 55 which is connected by meansof the pitman 56 .withthe stud 57 uponthe 'lower' endl of a rock-lever 58 fulcrumed. in-v termediate its ends upon the stud-screw 59, .tapped into the standard 2. The rock-lever 58 is formed 'at its upper end with a segmental slot 6() in which is adjustably secured a block'l havinga stud-screw 62 connected by means of the pitman 63 with a stud-screw 64 upon the slide-block 16.' The cam-groove l' is so shaped that it 4shifts the rock-leverl 58 at ,the completion of each group of stitches. of predetermined number composing 4the edgelcovering overseam a -d the bar so as tosuitably change the" length of lateral jog of the needle, the slide-block 16 being moved forwardly to increase the throw of the needle for the barring operation, and backwardly to reduce the samefor the side-stitching.

, Secured upon the Atop of the arm 3 isV a bracket-'piece G5 provided with a boss 66 in which is secured the shouldered stem 67 of the auxiliarytension to .whichare applied `the loose o positely cupped disks 68 which are norma' ly pressed together upon the shoulder ofthe stem 67. by means of the sprin 69 interposed betweenthe upper disk and t e thrust-nut 7 0k applied to the thread-y ed upper portion of the stem. The bracketpiece 65 has a depending lug 71 carrying the screw-stud 72 which serves as afulcrum for. the'release-lever which is formed. with' an upper arm 73 having a backwaidly extending wedge-shaped projection 74 in"'reg isterwith the adjacent faces of the tensiondisks 68, the release lever having a depending arm 75 carrying at vits lower fend. the clamp-screw 76 whose threaded shank en. ters the slot -77 in the rearwardly extendll ing adjustable contactqlate 7 8- which is formed at vits rearward extremity with a lateral lip, 79 adapted for engagement with the forward edge of the upper arm of the rock-lever'58.-

As represented in Fig. 1, the contact-.spiate 78.is in its rearward or operative po" tion wherein the 'lip 79 is outof contact with'the rock-lever 58 but within the range of movement of the latter as the upper arm of the same advances to throwthe needle-jogging mechanism into barring condition; .whereby the point 74 'of the release-leverarm. 73 wedges between the auxiliary tension-disks 465 68 to release. the tension' upon the thread.

By loosening the-screw 76 and shifting the contact-plate 78 forwardly so as to .set the lip 79 out of th'e range of movement of thc rock-lever 58 in moving between side-'stitch-A ing andl barring positions, the 'releasing lever is unaffected by the needle-jog controlling action of the rock-lever 58, and the operation `ofthe auxiliary tension upon the` upper thread becomes constant.

To insure the subjection .ofthe upper threadI to a certain degree of tensilon throughout the entire button-hole stitchingr cycle of' operation, a uniformly acting primary tension element of usual or suitable form is applied to the head of the bracket'- arm through which the upper thread is led to the needle. This is shown comprising the usual loose disks 80 pressed together 'and upon thel shoulder of the stem 81 by means o` the spring 82 Vinterposed between the outer..tensi'on-disk and the thrust-nut 8.3.

In threading the machine for operation, the upper vthread is led from the source of supply between the disks of a common'form of thread-retainer 84 mounted upon the bracket-piece and thence between the auxiliary tension-disks 68y and throu h the eye 8,5 of a thread-guide also secure upon the bracket-pieceV 65. It is thence ledy through the usual guide-eye at the .rear of 95 the bracket-arm downwardly between the primary tension-disks, upwardly'fthrouffh the eye of the take-up 1ever'86, and finally to the eye of the needle. 1

The operation of the machine in stitch- 100 ing buttonholes is similar to that of the ma'- V4chine represented in United States. patents of E. B. Allen before mentioned. e'xccpt'ing in the .action lof'the compound tension dcvice. In .adjusting the strength of the twol tension elements the primal'ytension is set to produce a drag upon me needle-tln-cad -onl v suiicient to bring the interlock of the upper and lower threadswithin the hardy of the fabric for oroducticn of a sci-ic` ot' .110 whip-stitches; while the auxiliary tension element is adjusted to produce upon the upper thread, when closed thereon, an additional drag suticient to cause loops of'shuttlc-thread to be Vdraujn upward 'under the 115 actionof tlietaIle-up. entirely through the fabric for 'prnduction of a purl intermediate the overedge and depth-stitch needle thrusts'. During Athe side-stitchingl the upper, arm of the vneedle-jog controlling rock-lever 58 is in its rearward position wherein the nee'dle receives short jogging movements. andthe ausgiliary tension is Jpermitted' to operate upon'the thread to produce a purl-stitch overseam along the edge 12-5 of the buttonhole. lVhen the roclc-lcvcr58 is shifted for the'barring operation. the jog of the needle is increased and the auxiliary tension is simultaneously opened by the action of the releasing leveixf 75 whereby thc 130 interlock of the upper and lower threads for the barring stitches is'positioned in the body of the fabric. fBy merely -adjusting the contact-plate 7 S as before described, wit-hout changing any other part of the mechanism, a buttonhole may be, made with the purl-stitch continued into the bar'so that the appearance of the stitching remains the same throughout the ent-ire buttonhole; As the actien oi the two tension elements upon the thread requires to be adjusted `with precision, it is desirable that neither should Abe disturbed after it has `been' correctly adjusted; and the present improvement af'- ords a means of producing different styles ot' butto-nholes by dilierent methods of manipulation of the stitching-threads without in any manner changing the adjustment of any of the thread-engaging parts.

.As shown herein, the machine is provided with a stop-motion device including a swingf ing stop-lever 87 fulcru'med upon the stud 88 and having a link connection 89 with one arm of a rock-lever 90 mounted upon a ixed fulcrum-stud 91 and having its other arm adapted for engagement with the lower arm 75 of the tension release lever.- The rocklever 9() is normally out of engagement with the lever-arm 75, as represented in Fig. 1, butwhen the stop-lever 87 is thrown backwardly to stop the machine the rock-lever 90 is turned' upon its fulcrum so as to engage the lever-arm 75 for opening the auX- iliary tension for convenience in removing or adjust-ing the work. A device of well known construction is employed oropening the primary tension, when thework-clamp is opened. I

While the present improvement is shown. and described herein in what is considered its preferable form, it is evident that the same may be veryconsiderably modified without departure from the scope Ofhthe present invention. It'is herein'represented as applied to a compound tension device, but it is evidently equally applicable to other I'forms V of thread-controlling devices for automatically' changing the vposition ot the interlock of the upper and lower threads in the production of successivegroups of stitches, such as those forming the subjects of the United States patents to B.4 Allen No. 757,171, of April112, 1904,.and No. 784,291, of March 7, 11905; the essenc e of the present invention being the provislon of means adapted for adjustment to render either effective or ineffective the automatically acting means for changing the position of the interlock 'of the threads.

Having thus setforth vthe nature of' the invention, what I claim is 1. In afsewing machine, the combination with stitch-forming mechanism comprising a needle carrying an upper thread and a cooperating loop-taker carrying lower thread,

of automatically acting means operating at the completion of each group of stitches of predetermined number whereby the position 'of the interlock of the upper and lower threads may be changed in-the succeeding group ofstitches from that of the-preceding group, and means including an adjustable element adapted to be set in or 'cont-inuously out of operative relationwith an element of the stitch changing means Where` lby the latter may be rendered either effective or ineffective'in the production of con-l secutive groups of stitches.

2; lIn a sewing machine, the combination with stitch-forming mechanism comprising a needle carrying an upper thread and a co operating loop-taker carrying a Y lower thread,l of means for applying a tension tov the upper thread, automatically acting means whereby the 'tension upon the upper thread may be changed after. the producj .tion of each group ofstitches of predetermined number, and including an adjustable element adapted to be positioned to render the tension-changing means either effect-ive or lnedective during the productlon of consecutive groups of stitches.

.3; In a buttonhole stitching and barring machine, the combination with stitch-forming mechanism comprising a needle carrying an upper thread and afcoperating looptaker carrying a lower thread, and atension device provided with means forl adjusting the maximum' and minimum intensity of its action, of tension controlling means acting automatically uponv the tension device and adapted to. vary the tension upon the thread between said limits for the side-stitches and Abar-stitches, respectively,` and means acting independentlyof said means of -adjustment for preventing the action of said tensioncont-rolling means during bqth -the side- .stitching and barring opera-tions without disturbing the adjustmentof the tension.

4. In a buttonhole stitching and barring machine,-the combination with stitch-formingmechanis'm comprising a .needle carrying `an upper thread and a coperating loop-v taker carrying a lower thread, -means fo`i changing the length of the stitches in the side-stitching and bar-stitching, a ,uniformly acting primary upper-threadtensioi* and an auxiliary upper-thread tension, o; tension 'controlling means actuated by the stitch-changing means and designed in its normal operation to render the auxiliary tensioninoperative in the barring operation, and `including an adjustable element adapted to be set in or continuously out of operative relation with an element of the stitch-changing means.

5. In a buttonhole stitching and barring machine, the combination with stitch-forming mechanism comprising'a'laterally jogging needle carrying an upper threadand a cooperating loop-taker carrying a .lower thread, means including a vibratory lever for changing the amplitude of the needlejog for the sideand barring-stitches, respectively, a uniformlyacting primary upper-thread tension and an auxiliary upperthreaid tension, of a tension releaser and lower threads relative to the face of the work in. the production of a group of stitches, automatically acting meansadapted to operate atv the completion-of- Said group of stitches to change `the position of the interlock of the threads in the succeeding group of stitches, .and means acting independenthT o4. the adjustment of the interlock positioning 'means for rendering the interlock changing means ineffective in performing its function.

Iii-testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of ,t-Wo subscribing Witnesses.

ALEXANDER BOYD. lVitnesses D. B. BUNIE, H. J. MILLER. 

